Chisuke stood beside Sumire's body with a subtle hint of tension. He watched as the girl's chest rose and fell indicating her breathing.
I guess she's still alive.
He was about to turn around to face the suicidal lady when she spoke. Suddenly he came to a halt.
"I must say, your outfit is quite peculiar."
He had long put her down, now she sat on the rocky ground with her arms wrapped around her knees. He attention was aimed squarely on Chisuke's face, or at least that was the plan. His mask however, prevented her from doing so.
Chisuke turned around to face the lady, from the sidelines it was almost like he was looking down on her.
"My outfit?"
Chisuke mused. His dressing was that out of place. His kimono looked quite a bit exquisite, but not enough to be called peculiar. The swords on his waist were a different matter, but they could simply be labeled as a samurai.
In their day an age, it wasn't very abnormal to see people wielding blades, even if the sight was a bit frightening.
"It's the mask, isn't it?"
The lady bobbed her head awkwardly.
"I must say, you have quite peculiar taste. It had a unique design. If I didn't know any better I would think it was actually your face. Not that I mean you have the face if a demon, of course not."
"Is that so."
"Of course."
The lady hurriedly replied making her mask of composure slip. Even at her age, the sight of an imposing male made her flustered.
"Do you want to see?"
"Huh?"
A yell escaped her lips upon hearing Chisuke's question. The swordsman stood perfectly still not the least bit moved. Somehow his already dashing figure was even more impressive.
The lady felt her face turning warm. In haste she brought the sleeve of her yukata up to her cheeks. The cloth hid her embarrassment perfectly fine.
In the seconds that passed she made an attempt to regain some composure, but then Chisuke moved closer to her. Far too close.
There were only a few centimeters between them, and then Chisuke placed his hand on his mask. His grasp tightened and then he removed the wooden veil.
The lady's eyes widened as she watched the mask reveal a face inhumanly beautiful. Deathly pale skin free of any blemishes accentuated the sharp contours of his face, it was like looking at a word of art. It would have been truly perfect if his eyes had been revealed. Indeed, Chisuke choose to keep them closed.
"Hey."
The lady flinched back and almost lost her balance, threatening to fall back had Chisuke not held her. His hand reached past the lady's body and caught her back.
Chisuke smiled. It was a smile that would make even the most stalwart woman feel a hint of passion, and it worked on the fair lady, insidiously so.
Behind the veil of her sleeve, the previously pink face had turned red.
"Careful miss, you don't want to hurt the baby."
After making sure the lady had regained her balance, Chisuke let go of her and retreated back to Sumire, leaving the poor damsel in a state of panic.
"I'll have you know that I have a name. It's Chinatsu."
Chisuke smiled politely.
"I'm Chisuke. It's nice to meet you, miss Chinatsu."
The lady brought her hands up and awkwardly waved through air.
"No, no, the pleasure is all mine. And also you don't need to be so polite, I doubt I'm much older than you. Actually I just turned twenty one, today's my birthday."
It would have very well been the day she died had Chisuke not intervened, but apparently they weren't going to talk about that. Surprisingly enough, Chisuke seemed to be in the mood to talk about anything else.
"Really? I was sure it was your death day."
Chinatsu lowered her head in shame as Chisuke stared down at her.
It seemed he was more than willing to broach the topic of her attempted suicide.
"I don't want to talk about it."
The swordsman took a beep breath to savor the fresh air if the riverside and then put back on his mask.
"There should be a settlement around here, I need to make a quick stop."
Chisuke glanced at Sumire and then turned to the Chinatsu. The fair lady had a subtle look of unsase on her face.
"I wouldn't suggest going to the village."
The voice of the lady which was once flustered had turned cold.
"You'll regret it."
She paused.
"I'm not threatening you, it's just that I'm certain you'll regret it. You'd best he on your way."
Chisuke stared at the vermillion sky with a chuckle resounded from behind his mask.
"Does this have anything to do with the demon lurking here?"
The lady stood speechless for a moment, but then a smile spread across Chinatsu's face.
"So you know?"
"I do."
Chisuke made no effort to deny the alligation. He felt no need to.
"Then I suggest you run if you want to live."
"Run?"
Chisuke seemed genuinely confused.
"What kind of life would I live after running away? After all my sole reason for existence is to kill as many of those creatures as possible."
The lady flinched when Chisuke spoke those words. His voice was calm, but that only fueled the growing unease.
It felt as if merely looking at the masked man made her blood run cold. The unfathomable darkness hiding behind his mask grew thicker and then Chinatsu finally understood what she was feeling. It was Chisuke's fierce determination, his will, one full of contempt and spite.
Chinatsu froze in the presence of the the overwhelming pressure that washed over her. Faced with Chisuke's bloodlust all she could do was remain still.